Jordan Morris adds Gold Cup to NCAA, MLS titles

SANTA CLARA — Bruce Arena found Jordan Morris not long after the final whistle blew to offer some encouraging words to the U.S. forward, who had just helped deliver another CONCACAF Gold Cup title.

Arena learned a little more about the young American in one half of soccer that began with a costly mistake and finished with a spectacular strike.

“I said, ‘You made up for the goal you gave away for us.’ And then I said, ‘You hit that ball pretty good,”’ the U.S. coach recalled. “Those kind of moments are important for a player. That’s a big step he took tonight, so I’m real pleased with that.”

The former star at nearby Stanford scored a tiebreaking goal in the 88th minute , lifting the United States past Jamaica 2-1 on Wednesday night for the Americans’ sixth Gold Cup title and first since 2013.

In a span of 19 months, Morris has won an NCAA title in 2015 with Stanford, scoring the first two goals in a 4-0 rout of Clemson; won the 2016 MLS Cup for his hometown Seattle Sounders, who beat Toronto on penalty kicks; and now added a Gold Cup medal to his growing collection.

“Some of those still haven’t set in,” he said. “It’s pretty special to be part of three great teams. It’s awesome to be part of championships because they don’t come around too often. It’s very exciting.”

Morris’ goal came after he lost his mark on Je-vaughn Watson, who evened the score in the 50th minute with a 4-yard volley off Kemar Lawrence’s corner kick.